Gully Boys

Gully Boys origin story plays out like the perfect domino effect. While sorting vintage clothes in a Minneapolis-area Ragstock in 2016, Kathy Callahan (she/her) shared her dream of becoming a vocalist with Nadirah McGill (they/them). After encouraging a friend from middle school, Natalie Klemond (she/her), to join the trio on bass, Nadi picked up a pair of drumsticks and counted off a cover of Best Coast’s “Girlfriend.” Mariah Mercedes (they/them) joined in 2021.

Continuing the lineage of Gully Boys’ harmonious hybrid of garage, pop rock, and punk, the Favorite Son carries the weight of 18 unforgettable months through pure kinetic energy. “The Way” and “I’m Not Yours” open the set with a jolting one-two punch from frantic percussion and even more anxious narratives with narrators ripping away the seams of uncomfortable relationships. This discomfort from a loss of control haunts the fragile “In Another Life,” and “Russian Doll,” a sugar-coated alt-rock jammer about the bitter pill of late stage capitalism. Gully Boys’ mission comes through clearest on the title track, a throbbing and white-hot rejection of gender, where power is granted to favorite sons but usurped by these Boys.